See the world's best in Chicago

Danielle Braff, SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNECHICAGO TRIBUNE

As we wait for the Olympic committee to figure out that Chicago's the best place in the world to host the games, we've created our own list of Chicago's best. Chicago boasts many records, and if you simply take a walk through the city, you'll probably traipse past some of the best stuff in the world.

World's largest Tiffany art glass dome: The Louis Comfort Tiffany dome at the Chicago Cultural Center is 38 feet in diameter, covers more than 1,000 square feet, and is divided into 243 sections containing more than 30,000 pieces of glass, said Meg Givhan, the Center's spokeswoman. The dome was completed in 1897 with the purpose of maximizing natural light coming into the room. A concrete exterior dome built in the '30s blocked this natural light, but the Tiffany dome's most recent restoration -- completed this June -- reversed this and restored the room's natural light. The room was reopened to the public on July 1. Chicago Cultural Center: 78 E. Washington St.; 312-744-6630.

World's smallest complete Bible: You may have to squint to see the tiny Bible, which is located in the chapel of Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle inside the Museum of Science and Industry. At just .8 cm thick, 2 cm high and 1.5 cm wide, the Bible is believed to be the tiniest in the world. It was printed by David Bryce in 1890, and placed in the dollhouse, which was designed by art director and interior designer Harold Grieve. The point of the castle was to create a complete fantasy home, which contains more than 2,000 miniatures and cost more than $500,000 in 1935. The estimated cost of the home today is unknown. Museum of Science and Industry: 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive; 773-684-1414.

World's oldest fish: The Australian lungfish, housed at the Shedd Aquarium, is affectionately known as "Granddad." He arrived at the aquarium in 1933, and while his age at that time wasn't known, he was believed to be an adult -- which makes him the oldest fish in a public aquarium in the world. Shedd spokesman Roger Germann said Granddad is a vegetarian and big fan of lettuce. He is 4 feet long, has a green hue plus brown age spots and is about to celebrate his 75th anniversary at the aquarium. Germann is proud to report that Granddad "has some friends here." Shedd Aquarium: 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive; 312-939-2438.

World's busiest futures and options exchange: In 1848, the Chicago Board of Trade was modestly born. With only 83 merchants, they began trading from 101 S. Water St. More than a century and a half later, the CBOT set a new record for annual trading volume, with 806 million contracts on Jan. 2, 2007. Two months later, the CBOT Board of Directors began discussing a merger with IntercontinentalExchange Inc. Last year, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and the CBOT completed the merger, creating the world's largest and most diverse exchange, with more than 3,600 CBOT stockholders trading 50 futures and options.

World's busiest food festival: If you swung by Taste of Chicago this summer, you may have noticed it was a bit crowded. That's because you were part of what is known as the busiest food festival in the world. This year, 3.6 million people hit the 10-day festival to sample the 65 restaurants and party in the 7 entertainment areas. This year, diners ate 148,000 turkey legs, 122,000 tacos, 56,000 cheeseburgers and 40,000 baby bananas.

World's longest subway platform: Finally, a reason not to complain about the CTA -- it apparently wins the record for longest subway platform. According to Katelyn Thrall, a CTA spokeswoman, the Red Line's State/Monroe stop is believed to be the longest in the world. At 3,500 feet, the platform has been used since the 1930s to service multiple subway stops, Thrall said in an e-mail. It's currently under construction due to work at an adjacent station, but if you're in the mood for a really long walk in the future, check it out. Or, even better, hop on the train and have a good, long look as you whiz by.

World's best preserved dinosaur: In 2000, the Field museum adopted Sue, the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex in existence, and no other museum in the world has been able to find a better preserved dinosaur yet. Sue is 13 feet high at the hips and 42 feet long from head to tail; she contains more than 200 fossilized bones. She's believed to be about 67 million years old, and was discovered near South Dakota. Sue probably weighed about 7 tons, and survived on a heavy meat diet. Sue's real skull is on display in an exhibit on the second-floor balcony overlooking Stanley Field Hall. Here, visitors can get an up-close view of Sue's massive head, as well as some insight into the mounting process and the story of how Sue ended up at The Field Museum. In addition, visitors can view animated CT scans of the skull and touch a variety of casts of Sue's bones, including a rib, forelimb and tooth. Field Museum: 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive; 312-922-9410.